Car-coupling



(No Model.)

A S NEAL GAR GOUPLING. No. 312,152.

Patented Feb. 10, 1885.

BNITED STATES ADAM s. NEAL, or RICHMOND, TEXAS.

CAR- COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 312,152, dated February 10, 1885.

Application filed December 10, 1884. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Beit known that I, ADAM S. NEAL, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Richmond, in the county of Fort Bend and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gar-Couplers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,

such as will enable others skilled in the art to claims, the object of my invention being to provide a car-coupler which will automatically couple the cars to each other without the use of links or pins, and which is provided with means whereby the cars can be uncoupled from the top of the car.

In the accompanying drawings,which illustrate my invention, Figure 1 is a plan view. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section, and Fig. 3 is a vertical section.

A A represent the top and bottom plates of the draw-head, which are rigidly connected to each other by bolts or pivot-pins a near their forward ends and at the rear ends. These plates are connected to the car in the usual manner, so as to have a 1011- gitudinal spring-movement. A center plate or bumper, B, is secured between the plates A A, and its forward end is located slightly in the rear of the end of the top and bottom plates. The bolts a also pass through the forward ends of this central plate, B. The plates A A B are enlarged at their forward ends, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and they are connected to each other at their rear ends by any suitable means. Each of the draw-heads have pivotally secured to the same, by means of the bolts a, coupling-hooks G O, which are of similar construction. These hooks, at their front portion, are curved inwardly, as shown at b, the outer portions being rearwardly curved, as shown at b, and provided with notched portions 0 c.

Opposite the pivots a l at these coupling-hooks are provided with a mortise, d, into which the head of the center plate, B, passes, and the rear portions of said coupling-hooks extend outwardly, as shown, and the jaws at the forward end of the said coupling-hooks are held in a closed position by a spring, E, which is bent centrally back upon itself, so as to partially encircle an upupper forward portion of the plate B. The terminal portions of said spring E are provided with slots, through which slots pass pins, which enter the ends of the couplinghook G. The spring E rests upon the upper portion of the plate B. The jaws of the coupling-hooks G O are of a greater vertical width than their body portion, said jaws being about on the same plane as the upper and lower portions of the top and bottom plates,A A, while the portions of the coupling-hooks rear of the top and bottom plates are of a width equal to the space between the inner portions of the top and bottom plates, and the members of the hooks 0, rear of the pivots a a, taper both vertically and laterally toward their rear ends.

upper and lowerplates serve as bumpers, and when the cars are coupled to each other the jaws of the coupling-hooks will be located between the opposite jaws, the end hooks, b b,of one of the coupling-hooks engaging with the notches or recesses c c in the opposite drawhead.

To the side of the car, and pivotally secured in the upper plate, A, is a vertical shaft, F, which is provided with a flexible connection, which passes through a slot, f, in said plate, and is connected to cords or chains 9 g,which pass over guide-pulleys h h, .said flexible connections or chains being at tached to the ends of the coupling-hooks. The guide-pulleys h h are pivotally secured between the plates AB, and when it is desired to nncouple the cars it can be accomplished by simply turning the shaft F upon the top of the car, at which point it is provided with a hand-wheel, so as to tighten the flexible connections, thus drawing the ends of the coupling-hooks together and separating the jaws.

I claim- 1. The combination, in a car-coupler, of the wardly-projecting pin, 0, which enters the WVhen the coupling-heads come together, the

pivoted coupling -hooks provided at their projecting beyond the center plate so as to front ends with similarly-constructed jaws, form bumpers, the center plate having at- 15 having inwardly-turned ends 12, outwardlytached thereto a spring with rearwardly-dicurved portions 1), and notches 0, spring E, verging members, and means for drawing the 5 with rearwardlydiverging members, and ends of the coupling-hooks together, the parts plates A AB, the parts being organized subbeing organized as shown. stantially as shown, and for the purpose set In testimony whereof I affix mysignature in 20 forth. presence of two witnesses.

2. In a car-coupling the combination of IO the pivoted coupling-hobks O O,with enlarged ADAM NEAL forward end portions, constructed substan- WVitnesses: tially as shown, top and bottom plates, A A, J. WV. PARKER,

and center plate, B, the top and bottom plates J. J. DIOKERSON. 

